n't seem so...far away. ♪

welcome back to "power lunch." i'm john harwood in washington. president obama just talked about the sequester cuts. he was asked if they are inevitable. he said, i never thing anything is inevitable but it looks like it will happen. this helps explain, tyler and simon, why there isn't more urgency about solving the problem right now. >> that's one of the things we have to contend with next week. the next is the italian elections then the hawkins test on humphreys for the moment. we hire a major component of that dow. hpq, hewlett-packard begins to gain, in the wake of last night's result and exclusive interview last night on cnbc. >> just when you think you have the markets figured out, they throw you an up day. >> "street signs" begins right

now. have a great weekend. and welcome to "street signs," everybody. i'm mandy and we are black in back, baby. dow is soaring. turning positive for the week now but could we head for the case of the mondays come next week. also hp is leaving this market higher. that stock hits a fur-year high. also, stock shopping spree. we will hit the mall for three things that every invest over, yes, that means you, that you need to watch for next week and we have the sure fire plan to win your office oscar pool that does not involve. let's look at what markets are up to. the dow is nudging up every friday this year, so far. and eight fridays in a row. also kind after mirror image to the mondays as s&p 500 has been in the red all five mondays so far this year.

and believe it or not, if the dow is up more than 0.4%, as it is now, today will be the best gain in nearly three weeks. let's get straight to the market reporters. bob pisani at nyse, rick santelli as sye. >> there is a debate about what happens with qe 2. who do things calm down? when we heard fed officials talking down, essentially. number one, we have confidence up. closing gren. that always helps us. but the feds stay easy for a long time. then leaked reports that mr. bernanke was minimizing concerns about asset bubbles and of course he is going to be testifying next week, mandy, in washington and a lot of traders expect him to reiterate, bullard's comment, that rates are likely to remain low for a long time. can you see the effect on the market here.

all of the risk on, if you like to call it that, materials, tech, financials and industrials, all up. almost the same amount. two to one, advance in declining stocks. take a look for the week, you're right, mandy, dow jones is the only major index in positive territory. now it's flat. but transports s&p 500 to russell and nasdaq is the big loser for the week. mandy? >> indeed it is, bob. thank you very much. rick santelli, how we wrap up the week in the bond pits. >> with a lower yield, extra buying coming in. i understand on one hand that it is on the scale in terms of the fed buying treasuries keeping yield down. but remember all the talk about selling and it could still move. but you're talking about eight weeks. here is what i find fascinating. starting with today, i will go back eight fridays to tell you where the ten-year yield was. this is so unlike me. so right now, 197. back 2%, 195. 201. 195.

184. 187. 190. you get the picture. the treasuries are going in where quick. now the problem is, you what conclusions can we draw by that? i'm not sure. i wish i could have asked mr. bullard that question this morning. back to you. >> i thought you had all of the answers for us, rick. i'm sure you will find a few over the weekend. in the meantime, sure, on a tear today but worldwide market all a bit wahwah this week. china closing down, almost 5%. turkey, one of the best performers in the world last year. more than 50 percent in 2012. this week, losing almost 3%. back here in the good old united states of america, we have just kind of slumped along. so what should your investment game plan be right now? let's ask some of wall street's smartest money. joining us is barry james and peter kenny.

barry, let me start with you. you say stocks are likely topping but don't underestimate how high they can still good? >> that's right. you know, we've been facing a lot of fear in the market for long time and yet the market is up 136% from the lows back in march of '09. and the current rally we're in, is just starting to see people edging back into riskier assets. i was looking at the last six months and the biggest, in terms of money flow, have been more cash but also asset allocation funds. so people are just dipping their toes in the water and they can bring more money to the table and you don't have that bullishness pervasive. and enough about money madness, two fiscal cliffs, if you will. not basketball. you can it not to climb that wall and the market can go a good bit higher. >> do you agree with that? that we could good higher from where we are right now?

>> i think we could. i still say that i think largely we have seen close to half of the gains we will see in the year already. maybe we see a double from here by the end of theier. there is so much in the way of head wind, whether the march madness that your former guest was referring to, or whether the concerns over gdp expansion. concerns over unemployment. concerns overs sequestration. and yes, the market likes to climb a wall of worry bp but where the p/e ratio north of 18 and dow jones p/e ratio north of 15,er with seeing froth relative of earnings. as a direct result, i think there is good reason for rotation at a more vulnerable names into a little bit for stratification away from high fires in the u.s. market. >> barry, i do hope we are not topping out at these levels when you consider how many retail

investors, individuals, moms and dads so far this year, have started to get bullish as they start it pile in. which always makes me nervous. what should they be doing right now? >> they shouldn't be selling yet, if they've got stocks, keep them for the moment. i would say that there is some sectors in the market that look particularly good. financials obviously, they are making a lot of money that j.p. morgan s and goldman sachs and fifth thirds of the world. you have the automobile industry. really on a tear right now. a lot of people driving old cars and they don't want them any more. that another areas, that fords and trws of the world. even the hold building area looks like a long-term play. you might be frothy at this moment but some of the home builders or furniture companies could be a good place for folks. >> i would also like to know if there is bargain hunting to be had. we saw a wall where china is down this past week. gold has been really down this

past week. peter? any happy hunting to be had? >> absolutely, mandy pch i love gold. but as a persianage of the portfolio, i just love geld for so many reasons. historically and otherwise, as a county cyclical to what we see in as part of inflation trade and quantitative easing globally. but yes, i like paying on discount. i'm not one of those people who believes in the momentum trade. when i see the market come out of the gate within with this strength this year, i tend to be more cautious than more aggressive. so though i think we may see some sort of stall in terms of market performance and possibly a stall on the economic narrative here in the united states. i think the broader trend is higher. and for lots of good reasons your former guest had suggested. whether automobiles, home building and basic materials. there's a lot of positive tone to the larger, larger trend.

i'm just saying in the near term we could see a little bit after pause and a reevaluation of where the greatest degree of risk is in the portfolio of u.s. equities. >> causes, not necessarily a bad thing. real quick, gold on this pull back. do you like it as well? >> no. we don't. >> why not? >> too much inflation. you look at the prices. they add great run. and typically when you see a hundred percent run or more on gold over a year period, you tend to see three-year hiatus in prices. not that it won't come back, probably silver would be a better play at this time than gold. >> got it. barry, peter, thank you for joining us. enjoy your weekend. still ahead on "street signs," hewlett-packard ceo meg whitman takes a direct hit at dell. the battle straight ahead. plus, wine to the rescue.

how napa valley is keeping america in grapes. companies getting hacked, is this just the tip of the iceberg? we will dig in on that, ahead. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what's the point of an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon if the miles aren't interesting? the lexus ct hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. the lexus ct hybrid. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do

and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.

uncertainty makes it hard tore people to want it buy from you. they are making long-term bets. when dell goes with debt into the books that creates uncertainty around customer

support, future product road maps. so we will use this radov to ou advantage and go after dell's customers. >> we were talking to david faber earlier today. that stock is having its best day in more than four years. let's bring in pc magazine's editor in chief, dan costa. we have done many segments here on "street signs," like death of the pc. and will this play out this bat snell. >> the pc index is shrinking. it will probably continue to contract. we are talking about traditional desk tops and lap tops. but it is still a good business. they are not going away. hp is the market leader. they are going on the offense and taking advantage of uncertainty that dell is going through right now. >> do you think secretly dell and hp want to be out of the pc business and be more into market

services? >> it is no secret. they tried to do that last year. and went off course. dell tried it that too. but the software margin is in the software part. at the same time, pc is a nice way of serving and driving sales. >> who is buying pcs, emerging markets or corporations? like here in the newsroom, everyone has a pc on their desk. >> everyone has a pc. but the second device that families and individuals are buying usually isn't a second laptop or desktop, it is a tablet. that is what is augmented. people are updating phones more frequently and their pc isn't getting upgraded. >> at the moment, hp is number one world pc maker, right? what do you think that score board will look like in three-years time when you consider there are cheaper asian competitors out there. lenovo. some in taiwan. maybe some i haven't even

thought of yet. >> actually, lenovo took over from dell. and the number five worldwide, i guess questions all the time, should i buy this jesus laptop. great devices. i recommend them all the time. we will see different brands on our pcs. >> meg whitman going after dell customers. do you think she will be successful? >> i think so. we haven't seen what dell will do. now that they have started their process of going private, it is interesting to see their strategy but i think she landed some pretty powerful blows. >> okay. thank you for joining us today. great to have you. in the meantime, hack aattack. seems like everyday for the last two weeks there is a story about some company being hacked. par for the curse these days. joining us from wired magazine, is matt honen. matt is this just coincidence or is there really a noted rise in hacking right now? >> there's more. there's more than there has been in the past and it is more

public too. a few years ago see if jeep or burger king was hacked, you wouldn't know about it. but today because of their twitter feed, everyone knows about it. >> is this copy cats or coordination between the attacks the last two weeks. >> i think both. if you look at the attacks that new york times and washington post revealed, those are coordinated attacks, likely by the same entity. but there are a lot of people doing different things now. it is easy to use tools to hack into systems without a whole lot of knowledge. it is the kind of thing getting more and more widespread. >> every time there's a scary headline like, saying make sure it change your pass word on a regular basis, is that all it takes to stay safe? or is it more that we as an individual can do? >> no. no, that's definitely not all it takes. changing your pass word is great. you should do it. having a long complicated pass word is great. you should do it. but there are other things as

well like looking for an e-mail provider that gives you extra layer of security like two factor authentication. which isn't just a code going to your phone. making sure your banking provider has security in place. change your pass word and do more than that. >> last but not least, the cloud. does it make us safer or less safe? >> both. you don't have the control over your data when it is in the cloud like you do when it is just sitting on your hard drive. so especially when you've got lots of people using the same services that are all kind of ways for someone to get into cloud services. but you know, on the other hand it can provide you a security. be continuously updated and if you lose the data on your laptop, home computer, that kind of stuff can be rescued by the cloud. >> okay. thank you so much for joining us. very quickly. let's run you through what is happening in the market today. because after a couple of days in the red, we are moving higher, folks. a gain of about nine points

there for s&p 500. as we can see, holding above 1500 mark, below which it has dipped the last couple of days. wait for monday, though, because the s&ps always seems to have a case of the mondays. and red every monday so far this year. let's hope it doesn't do that this monday. say it ain't snow. another nasty storm headed toward the northeast. what you can expect, ahead. plus, what's old is new when it comes to cars. what is driving the used car boom when "street signs" returns. [ male announcer ] it was designed to escape the ordinary. it feels like it can escape gravity. ♪ the 2013 c-class coupe. ♪ starting at $37,800. ♪

starting at $37,800. all stations come over to mithis is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers.

he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com.

the midwest is backing out from the storm and the mideast is preparing to get walloped again for the system. kelly, what are we looking at here? >> well for now we are skill looking at snow coming down across the great lakes region. winter storm warning showing up in white for several counties in iowa. chicago though winter weather advisory just went away moment ago so things will be improving for us. now our attention turns to the next storm system. our coastal low which will be developing off the east coast of the united states. and that is going to bring about snow.

heavy at times for new england and anywhere from boston, inland, that's where you have the potential of seeing at least six inches of accumulation. that's the winter storm watches in effect. it won't be snow, the wind is is picking up as well and for boston the third weekend in a rewe deal with another snowstorm. for now you see the snow coming down. places like green by towards milwaukee and around buffalo, towards syracuse, traveling along the west end of the state. very careful with reduced visibility at times and we are thinking with this next storm there is more warm air involved. for places like new york and philadelphia, it is mostly a rain event for boston inland. that is where we have the potential of seeing a lot of snow and a lot of wind blowing it around as well. be careful. >> thanks very much for that, kelly. thank you and out to jackie deangelis. hey, jackie. >> hi, mandy. we saw a close at 1570 a while

ago but traders remain cautious gooding into the weekend because there are a lot of factors to consider here. number one, troubles in europe and at the same time in the united states that potential to see a pull back in quantitative easing. but still, a little volatility in the session as well as a result of options expiration. they say other things they are watching and concerned about is coming sequester. also the stock rally we are seeing today. continuation thereof. and the stronger dollar. that's where this cautious tone came from. also, just want it highlight, silver falling in sympathy with gold today as well. near 1% decline in that metal. >> jackie deangelis, thank you for the update. as we have been seeing, severe weather around the globe and parts of europe, flooding in italy and greece. sicily and athens hit especially hard by the downpours. a couple of inches falling is a

lot. rainy and cold, italians will still head to the poll this weekend to vote for a new prime minister. the country's recession will be worse this year than previously thought. here is the thing. the critical election has now turned into a three ring circus. let's get straight to michelle crewsa ka brcrewso /* -- michel caruso-cabrera. >> if you're an italian you can vote for a comedian, media tycoon, professor or career politician. two of the leading candidates have criminal convictions, including silvio buerlusconi. the second contender also with a criminal record is a comedian who traferses the country in a

camper and conducts massive rallies. he had 90% people at a rally in milan earlier this week. we are showing you the video of that. this is incred ill. despite the fact he will not be on italian tv. he hates italian journalists. he will not grant them interviews. he is foul-mouthed. when he speaks to the crowd it is laced with obscenities and they love it. he has skyrocketed in the polls. he was in third place. people think he might come in second place. he does grant interviews to foreign media and he did speak with cnbc europe. take a listen to this soundbite. he has a slight accent but he described his movement as u taupic realism. >> it is a movement of civility. in the future. it is a dream a utopic realist. an epidemic. >> it is an epidemic, he says,

spreading like a virus. we will see how the virus does on monday. when the polls close, 3:00 italian time, so about 9:00 a.m. east coast times when we get the exit polls to see how this comes out. if you have a hung parliament, which is possible, then perhaps the reform slows down. it will be an issue for the entire world if that happens. >> what do you think is the best outcome for investors here, michelle? >> a lot of investors are saying that the central left candidate who is number one, if he emerges as number one, then alignes with mario monty, the current prime minister, that could probably be the most stable government that could arrive and hopefully the last three or four years. but that's tough. mario monty leans right. and the left candidate has really extreme communist in his

coalition. monty won't want to work with them. it could be very complicated. >> stakes are high. thank you, michelle caruso-cabrera. hp extending begins on pace now to have the best percentage gains since 2001. i think between ibm and hp, that's about a third of the dows street gains. next on "street signs," a friday edition of street talk. we have herb joining us with five names that need to be on your radar right now. and just when you think air travel couldn't get any worse, the warning, the big warning. "street signs" is back in two. why turbo? trust us. it's just better to be in front.

the sonata turbo. from hyundai. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro.

just like you. go national. go like a pro.

street talk. i have herb joining me as well. i want it sta want to start with these two companies, herb. you have coach and michael kors. they are doing two completely different things in stock report. coach trading at a new 18-month low. michael kors hurting an all-time high this week. what do you make of that? >> you have one ramping up and one you could argue ramping down. this is not really ramping down but if you take a look over the

past five quarters or so at sales growth, you say it is ramping down. then coach came out a few weeks ago and said they will morph into luxury lifestyle brand. kors, going a different direction. but you in the, we say stock trading at all-time high earlier this week. then it went off a little bit after cliff because companies insider said they were selling a stock. >> quite a lot of insider selling going on with various stocks this week. let's look at rack space. it is lowering cloud pricing by 33%. not just 2 or 3%, 33% herb. is the race to the bottom now on? >> amazon has been the one leading the pace on that. they've been going lower and lower with their cloud service. they can afford to do it. with rackspace, that's a concern as you have a commodity product like that, prices come down. how does that's affect the future? obviously the company thinks they will go to tier pricing and

thinks they will offer more value. this story plays out over time. >> it is good for i.t. buyers but really competitive space for those providing the cloud. this is stuff you followed a lot. >> yes. >> it is higher today and i do believe it is getting a goldman upgrade as well. >> mandy, i have spent quite a bit of time on this company recently. i talked to doctors, hospitals. we are trying to talk to the company. we have the company on for us today. we tried hard. we are are continuing to do work on this. goldman comes out and says the company gets a boost through general surgery. and they also talk about there is a new da vinci, 12 or 24 months from now. a bigger issue here because this was a story where the growth is there as people put hospitals sort of have to put robot in. they don't want to not have one. but there are bigger issues about, you know, a study came out this week, the journal of american medical association.

suggesting that with gynecology, and hysterectomies, benign hysterectomies, that there is not a benefit after robot over traditional laparoscopic. you are seeing issues percolating that some believe could impact growth. >> and it is no small investment, is it, investing in these robots. >> right. >> herbalife is down. scott wapner last night, big distributor may leave. >> distributor who may leave is all part of the leave generation business. company has very strict rules that a distributor cannot control business sells leads to other distributor. we don't why the distributor might quite leave, though there was a change in accreditation of general businesses that some believe may have been controlled by distributors. the company has not responded to e-mails i've sent them. i know some of the executives

are traveling. but i will tell you, i have a list. i'm trying to get an answer. if i do, i will come back monday and hopefully get back to me by then and we can clear it up because there is confusion. >> a very formidable thing. i will just put that one out there. thank you, herb. boeing in the meantime is meeting with the faa as we speak. this is as the sequestration fear monger is hitting the airports. phil, why don't we start with that, the fear mongering and separate fact from fear for us, please. >> depends on whether or not you think the sequestration will lead it cuts and if the cuts will happen, mandy. here is what the faa or actually secretary of transportation is saying. he mentioned it today about the possible impact of sequestration. he said a hundred flight towers, roughly speaking, could be closed because of budget cuts. evernight shift and scores of others might be eliminated.

90-minute flight delays in addition to regular delays we see in service everyday. here is the second of transportation ray lahood speaking today at white house briefing room. >> i think when they see the kind of cut backs that are going to be made at some of the towers, they are going to have no choice but to really look at the fact that there are going to be delays and they have to be some cut backs on some of these flights. >> the "they" he is referring to is passengers and members of congress elected to hear from people. look at the reaction from airline index. no reaction, i heard from a number of people today who said, you know what, this is scare tactics. he is calling out republicans. he is a republican himself. basically saying, we don't think we will see a huge impact for the faa. so that is one story regarding the faa in washington today. the other story involves boeing making its formal proposal for fixing the 787 dreamliner. but 1:30 this afternoon, executives from boeing,

including ray conner, who is the ceo of boeing commercial airlines, along with the chief engineer for the plane, there is mike walking into the faa. they are in there. we expect the presentation to last maybe an hour to two hours where they detail point by point the changes that they plan it make to the batteries and to the airplanes. ray conner will be leading the presentation. when he is meeting with michael, head of the faa, boeing has been working hand in hand with the faa since january, in consultation to the changes they might be make together dreamliner. one last thing to keep in mind, mandy, i would not expect a decision today from the faa. they will take some time to decide what they might do. and it might be a conditional approval of the faa plan or the boeing plan, we should say. this is something that will play out over the next couple of weeks. >> thank you so much. phil lebeau.

let's turn from planes to automobiles. if you want it trade in your used car or truck, you might be in luck. used vehicles are in such demand that selling prices are on the rise to historical highs in 2012. average used vehicle sold for 17,500. so what is driving this trend? let's ask. president and ceo of groupon automotive. great to have you with us. i've even heard that dealers are so short of used car inventory, they have to resort to things like looking on craigslist. going to sporting events parkinging lots, supermarket parking lots to find used cars to sell. is this your experience as well? >> well, it's true, though we haven't had to do that. we have been short on cars for 12 to 24 months. it is hard it find great cars. we continue to be aggressive in looking for them. but it is great a great thing for the auto industry.

it is good for value in trade-ins. makes them for eager to flip them for new product, maybe better fuel economy or later technology. it has been overall good for the industry but it is a fact. used cars have been holding their price very well for the best part of two years. >> if i was a customer and i'm thinking, used car prices are high right now, on the other hand, maybe just for a little bit more, i could get a new car. what is the demand for used cars like? >> well, the demand is still great because several years ago, leasing really dropped in terms of a percentage of the market and we have less off leash vehicles. during the downturn, a lot of rental car supply was shut down by the auto manufacturer. so there is a shortage of used cars in the market. so and it does make used cars or new cars look more attractive particularly with good finance rates. so it is a supply and demand issue over all. >> real quick, traditionally

your business is a local business. you are going global and buying into fast-growing brazil. why? >> well, one of our auto manufacture partners asked me to go a year ago and with the purpose of buying dealerships and improve the professionalism of their network. because as kind of an advanced market in the u.s. we have process and technology expertise. and when i went down there, the growth potential of the market was somewhat staggering. and the markets now bigger than germany. fourth biggest in the world. and there will be about 10 million new customers coming into the market there in the next three years, okay, bear in mind the market sells less than 4 million a year there now. so we think it will get groupon automotive a great growth option for the next decade or so. and we are very excited about it. >> thank you very much for sharing that with us. thanks for joining us today. now over to josh lipton for a quick market flash.

josh? >> mandy, check out bp, which is enjoying a pop year. here is the news, dow jones reporting the u.s. justice department and gulf coast states are thinking of offering bp $16 billion deal to settle civil claims related to the deadly 2010 deep water horizon incident. bp up 10%. thank you. >> talking about moving up, markets are moving higher. we will see how we goes into the close here. couple of down days. we will come back to the tune of 94 point to the dow. let's see if we can get back it 14,000. and coming up next, boozy dose of hope yum to drown our slow down sorrows and more earnings. three things that every retail investor needs to know. before we go, most awesome video of the week. who said cheer leading isn't a sport. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004.

the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. ♪

[ male announcer ] when we built the cadillac ats from the ground up to be the world's best sport sedan... ♪ ...people noticed. ♪ the all-new cadillac ats -- 2013 north american car of the year. ♪ for a limited time, take advantage of this exceptional offer on the all-new cadillac ats. a talking car. but i'll tell you what impresses me. a talking train. this ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what it's carrying, while using less fuel. delivering whatever the world needs, when it needs it. ♪ after all, what's the point of talking if you don't have something important to say? ♪

coming up on the top of the hour on "closing bell kwos

disney has skyrocketed. why is one of the world's largest pension funds trying to strip him of his chairmanship. we will hear from the ceo of the teamsters pension fund. harvey pitt joins us for the preearning spike in hewlett-packard shares in volume yesterday and whether or not regulators should look into what are calling suspicious trades. why is canada's ambassador blaming the u.s. media for the stalled keystone pipeline project? he will tell us why. we look forward to seeing you at the top of the hour for the last hour of the trading week. >> thank you, bill. check out the week's most impressive stunt. a college cheerleader for william keri university nails a half-court shot by doing a back flip absolutely amazing. good for her. okay, here is a boozy dose of hopium for friday dose of hopium for to you drown out slow down sorrows. american wine exports hitting

record high last year. 90% coming from california. so jane wells has been digging up a lot on this for us. you are well aware of this subject matter, right? >> there was an article that the new york waders, the nickname, is cougar juice. so i've been afraid to order it ever since. anyhow. america feed the world and provide wine as well. that new record is 1.4 billion in export. as you noted, wine is one thing california does right. >> if they want it drink merlot, we're drinking merlot. >> if anybody drink merlot, i'm leaving. i'm not drinking [ bleep ] merlot. >> they fefr fully recovered from miles' tirade. but it is behind chardonnay and cabernet. but who loves merlot the most? europe.

they bought $485 million of wine from california last year. look at this this list. while export up up, they plunged in hong kong. the grape har harvest was quote, near ideal and quality was excellent. this should mean increase production. remember how trader joees a today raise the price of two buck chuck? most wine prices were down 30 percent in december. but they are still 50% higher than a year or two ago. constellation shares up. so it looks like bud budweiser and busch is up. buckingham research put a buy on constellation, saying the wine business is turning around. >> even now, jane, i feel embarrassed in a restaurant ordering merlot as a result of that movie, side ways.

>> i know. it had a huge impact. >> huge impact. but i want to ask you. i thought chardonnay was the cougar juice. or maybe summer cougar juice. >> both are. that article says both chardonnay and melback were both cougar juice. i don't think i have ordered it since. which says a lot about me and how i am influenced by peer pressure or what waiters think of me. >> time for a european cihraz. how about european therapy. retail stocks you need to stock up on ahead of next week's earnings. and the oscar prize goes to? well, we will help you map out your office pool. [ male announcer ] any technology not moving forward

is moving backward. [ engine turns over, tires squeal ] and you'll find advanced safety technology like an available heads-up display on the 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. on the 2013 lexus gs. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards

on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.

investors because next week is all about the retail earnings. retail earnings. courtney reagan is here with

what we need to look for. >> reporter: 15 retailers reporting on monday, home improvement retailers, lowe's and home depot, j.c. penney, kohl's and sears and tjx and dollar tree among those releasing financials. each retailer has its own nuances, but investors will focus most intently on the guidance going forward, especially as consumers adapt to rising payroll taxes. thompson routers says the reports that follow will be 1.7 more than last year's gains. they will also look at how promotions affected the markets over the holidays. they want to know if discounters like walmart and tjx are facing the same economic pressures that walmart detailed in its earnings release, looking for assurance that the core consumer is still buying. j.c. penney will be the headliner among the reporting

department stores. analysts expecting another awful quarter for same-store sales with a 27% decrease. the commentary from ceo ron johnson will be closely followed for his overall expectation as the company enters its second year of the four-year transformation, and we'll finally know how much cash is on that balance sheet and best buy reports thursday, the last day former chairman and ceo richard schultz has to make a bid for the company he founded. wall street analysts are expecting it to be a negative 1% but the stock has been on a tear. >> let's bring in our guests. ladies first here on the show. ladies, it's always about the guidance, but this time around is it really all about the guidance? >> i think it is. i mean, fourth quarter, for the most part, we know what the sales levels were for many of the companies, many pre-announced. we had retail sales reportings throughout the quarter, so i really do think it's about the guidance and how conservative

the guidance is but also what the current picture is and how bad february has been so far. >> any particular companies that you're watching out for that could disappoint on the guidance, liz? >> i'm particularly concerned about kohl's. i think the department store space has been very professional, inventories too high, and i think their guidance could be very disappointing. >> agree or disagree? jan? >> i am worried about kohl's. they are starting to do the right things to reduce the inventory levels. they brought in spring goods that are better. don't expect to see kohl's turn for back to school. >> what do you like, liz, going into this earnings season? >> well, i've been on ralph lauren, like that one, and they already reported. i think it's got a lot further to go. i'm also recommending coach. that's been a little bit of a choppier story. you know, i'm not really recommending much. i've moved to the sidelines on most of my recommendations. i do think retail is off to a slow start for this year, and i

think that the likely here below census guidance for a number of names. i've got a shopping list, but i'm keeping that to myself at this point. >> jump in, court. >> we learned a decent amount about the consumer from walmart. revealed quite a lot. more details than they normally do. that's a key interest and is that what all consumers and retailers are feeling? are they really pulling back because of the delays in the tax refund and higher payroll taxes or is that a temporary shock we're adapting to? >> i they we found out from nordstrom's that's not what is happening. if you're the lower end, walmart, target, the dollar stores, you're getting hurt. if you're saks, nordstrom's and macy's, you're probably not. macy's is right in the middle. if they are seeing, it it matters. if they are not seeing, it it's just at the lower end. i'm a big man right now of macy's, still a fan of walmart. still think they are getting it right. still think that penny's will have a great year at the back end. i'm on that bandwagon and nobody else is. >> almost impossible for jcp

because expectations are so low? >> no matter what jenny's reports this quarter. nobody cares. they have shored up their finances. nobody cares where the cash is anymore. they did three days ago. now they don't anymore. all we care about is what they tell sushappening in february. >> liz, on that point? >> i think jan has been right on this one recently. i've moved to the sidelines because i don't think it's trading on fundamentals, but the stock's heavily shorted. those who own it are in for the long haul and they have shored up their financials. it looks like they have some runway to continue to execute their plans. yeah, the big question is going to be how does february look and whether or not the improvement we've heard about has actually happened. >> need to bear fruit. jan, liz, court, thank you so much. next, we lay out the math to help you win your oscar pool. [ engine revving ]

♪ [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken. ♪ to help you not just to stay alive... but feel alive. the new c-class is no exception. it's a mercedes-benz through and through. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. more "likes." more tweets. so, beginning today, my son brock and his whole team will be our new senior social media strategists. any questions? since we make radiator valves wouldn't it be better if we just let fedex help us to expand to new markets? hmm gotta admit that's better than a few "likes." i don't have the door code. who's that? he won a contest online to be ceo for the day. how am i supposed to run a business here without an office?! [ male announcer ] fast, reliable deliveries worldwide. fedex. [ male announcer ] fast, reliable deliveries worldwide. we replaced people with a machine.r,

what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina,

change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. the dow is holding on to its gains, still below 14,000 but a third of the points of the gain on the dow have been due to two stocks, hpq and ibm. the oscars are two days away. are you wondering how to bet in your oscar poolt? cnbc's julia boorstin is on the red carpet with some answers. julia? >> reporter: well, mandy, the secret to winning your oscar pool is paying attention to social media as well as